Send me email updates about messages I've received on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.
By signing up, you certify that you are female and accept the Terms of Service and have read the
Privacy Policy.

I was not exactly a fan of the show before—giving a soapbox to someone like Sherri Shepherd, who wasn’t sure if the Earth was round or not, rather dampens my enthusiasm—but this secures my opinion of it now.

To phrase it delicately, none of her claims has any medical merit at all. Vaccines have an incredibly small risk compared to their extremelylarge benefit. Polio, measles, pertussis … these diseases and many more have infected, sickened, and killed far fewer people than they used to due to the development of vaccinations against them. Smallpox alone killed hundreds of millions of people, and it’sgone because of vaccines.

That’s why giving McCarthy a large public forum to share her views is a terrible idea. I’ll note The Viewhas more than 3 million viewers, and given the time slot, I suspect a lot of those folks watching are parents of young kids—precisely the demographic most prone to listen to anti-vaccine views.

And even if she doesn’t talk about any of her nonsensical health ideas on the show, the very fact that she now has this co-host position gives her a tacit credibility to the viewer. That’s why, last week, I was hoping people would write in to the show to express their displeasure. A lot of you did, and I sincerely thank you for it. Unfortunately, apparently, that had little sway with the producers of The View.

So McCarthy will now get a seat on a TV show, where her charm and good humor will no doubt serve her and her cause well. And in the meantime, her frankly dangerous ideas about health issues will get that much more mainstream attention.

I’m a parent myself. My wife and I have had to make tough decisions about our own daughter over and over again, especially when she was an infant. That’s why we carefully researched those issues and sought out information—science-based, credible information—about them. And that’s why all three of us are up-to-date in our vaccinations.

Despite McCarthy’s well-meaning intentions and sincerity, her claims are still very, very wrong. So let me be clear: Don’t heed the advice of anti-vaxxers. Instead, go to your board-certified doctor and ask about vaccines. And if the doctor recommends you go ahead and get the shots, do it. The life you save may be your own child’s, as well of those of children all around you.

I’m a parent
myself. My wife and I have had to make tough decisions about our own
daughter over and over again, especially when she was an infant. That’s
why we carefully researched those issues and sought out
information—science-based, credible information—about them. And that’s why all three of us are up-to-date in our vaccinations.

Despite
McCarthy’s well-meaning intentions and sincerity, her claims are still
very, very wrong. So let me be clear: Don’t heed the advice of
anti-vaxxers. Instead, go to your board-certified doctor and ask about
vaccines. And if the doctor recommends you go ahead and get the shots,
do it. The life you save may be your own child’s, as well of those of children all around you.

I’m a parent
myself. My wife and I have had to make tough decisions about our own
daughter over and over again, especially when she was an infant. That’s
why we carefully researched those issues and sought out
information—science-based, credible information—about them. And that’s why all three of us are up-to-date in our vaccinations.

Despite
McCarthy’s well-meaning intentions and sincerity, her claims are still
very, very wrong. So let me be clear: Don’t heed the advice of
anti-vaxxers. Instead, go to your board-certified doctor and ask about
vaccines. And if the doctor recommends you go ahead and get the shots,
do it. The life you save may be your own child’s, as well of those of children all around you.

I’m a parent
myself. My wife and I have had to make tough decisions about our own
daughter over and over again, especially when she was an infant. That’s
why we carefully researched those issues and sought out
information—science-based, credible information—about them. And that’s why all three of us are up-to-date in our vaccinations.

Despite
McCarthy’s well-meaning intentions and sincerity, her claims are still
very, very wrong. So let me be clear: Don’t heed the advice of
anti-vaxxers. Instead, go to your board-certified doctor and ask about
vaccines. And if the doctor recommends you go ahead and get the shots,
do it. The life you save may be your own child’s, as well of those of children all around you.

Send me email updates about messages I've received on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.
By signing up, you certify that you are female and accept the Terms of Service and have read the
Privacy Policy.